Surviving Friday the 13th in Leeds

Friday the 13 can be pretty scary, in response, I wrote a (somewhat) handy survival guide over on Time Out Leeds

http://www.timeout.com/leeds/blog/surviving-friday-the-13th-in-leeds

Five retro video games you should pick up at the RetroCollect Video Game Market

There's a retro video games market taking place this Saturday at Leeds Town Hall and, in act of unashamed nerdery, I wrote a list of games to look out for:

http://www.timeout.com/leeds/blog/five-retro-video-games-you-should-pick-up-at-the-retrocollect-video-game-market

The Man with No Ideas

The Man with No Ideas lay on his sofa and thought.

"What do I do?" he wondered.

It is a sad fact that the Man with No Ideas spent most of his time doing this. In thirty years he had never come up with a single idea of his own. Whenever he spent time with his friends he always went along with what they suggested, drank what they drank, ate what they ate. All his clothes were made up of outfits he'd seen on mannequins in shop windows and the inside of his house was a complete replica of a home decoration magazine cover he'd seen once.

'All I want" he thought "is one idea of my own."

Suddenly, he felt a tingling at the bottom of his spine that travelled up to his neck and onto his head - making all his hairs stand on end. Then his nose started to tingle uncontrollably but he didn't need to sneeze. Finally he felt a strange sensation in his stomach, as if a hundred butterflies had all lifted off at once. Just when he thought he couldn't stand it anymore, he leapt up off the sofa, flung his hands in the air and cried out:

"I know!"

Diary Entry 1 - Death

A good friend has become increasingly morbid of late. Faced with the realisation of her inevitable demise she seeks reassurance from those around her; unfortunately, as we work together, that often includes me.

"You know we're all going to die, right?" It's an odd way to start a conversation but at least it's honest.

"Yes." I reply, looking up from a particularly dull Excel spreadsheet. "I tend not too think about it too much."

"How? How can you just ignore it?" There's a look in her eyes - an interesting mixture - equal parts mania and melancholy. I sigh heavily.

"In much the same way that I'm now going to ignore you." I reply, returning to little slice of hell on Earth Bill Gates has so lovingly crafted for me.

Mark vs Blackbird

The following is not a metaphor. I'm not trying to make some grand statement about the conflict between humanity and nature. It doesn't provide a profound insight into my innermost thoughts and feelings. This is a literal tale of the living hell my life has become.

There is a Blackbird.

My Holiday Diary - Part 3, The Beauty and the Baron

I'm no stranger to affairs of the heart, in my short life I've know both the ecstasy and agony of love many times. As a data analyst, my work takes me all over West Yorkshire and I find that women are naturally drawn to a man with a solid grasp on the advance functions of Microsoft Excel. I've been blessed to meet many beautiful and intelligent ladies and I, in turn, have blessed them with my presence. When I journeyed to the Island of Wight a union of souls was the farthest thing from my mind, I should have learned from my previous experiences. If it can, the heart will find a way, against its wishes we are but pawns, to be moved and sacrificed at its whim.

Lumpy Legs and Short-haired Doctors

I’ve always been a mild hypochondriac.

Not to the point where I’ll actively search for possible ailments to suffer from but if something crops ups which has the possibility to be serious I’ll automatically jump to the worst case scenario. Case in point; a small lump on the back of my right leg which I’ve had for about four months. I decided to show someone at work who (reasonably) quickly said “Maybe you should go to the doctors.”